A Gamer Girl Blog!

SPLI

Hi there fitness freaks! This month Nintendo released a gift to everyone who played Wii Fit or Wii Fit Plus for the original Wii. If you have a Wii U and an existing Balance Board in your house, you can try Wii Fit U for FREE for 30 days by downloading the free trial on the Nintendo eShop!! After the trial period, all you have to do is purchase a Fit Meter for $20 to unlock unlimited use of the game. As someone who’s been playing Wii Fit Plus since 2010, I jumped on this deal as soon as it became available on November 1st.

Wii Fit U is the latest installment in Nintendo’s amazing efforts to make a fitness game that actually gets you results. Using the newest features of the Wii U GamePad, and the innovative technology of the already awesome Balance Board, you can get real feedback on form and balance from your virtual trainer. Something I especially love is the new Mirror Mode feature, which allows you to use the GamePad’s camera to actually see yourself on the TV (or you can play completely on the GamePad if you wish!) and compare your form to the trainer.

On top of new features like that, Wii Fit U includes lots of fun, new balance games, and improvements to already popular Aerobic activities. You can now do “Free Boxing” and punch to the beat while watching TV! There are lots of new ways to personalize your workout too. And if you are an early adopter of the Wii Fit franchise, you can transfer your old save files and data from the original Wii for a fast start!

Another cool feature is the way that Wii Fit U integrates the Miiverse. You can sign up for a Wii Fit U Gym Community on Miiverse, and this will post your activities to your friends! I set up a Gym Community for StreetPass Long Island, but everyone is welcome to join! As of now, I’m kind of pathetically alone in this Gym so PLEASE won’t someone join my Gym Community?

StreetPass LI Gym Community Code: 7008-8617-8850

Another cool way that Wii Fit U gives you feedback on your progress are all of the analytics that the game provides. If you’d played the older Wii Fit games, you’re already familiar with the charts that measure your weight and BMI. But Wii Fit U adds new levels of feedback, such as telling you how much time you’ve spent working on different parts of your body, allowing you to tailor your workout to sculpt targeted areas!

Now I must go into detail about the super Wii Fit Meter. This is not your average, everyday pedometer. Sure, yes, it measures the number of steps you take per day. On top of that, since it’s synced with your Wii Fit U game, it knows your BMI and can calculate how many calories are being burned. The Wii Fit Meter also includes an altimeter, which measures if you are climbing stairs or a hill and takes this into account with your burned calorie count. On the Wii Fit Meter, you can view many charts and see what time of day you were being active… and lots of other cool stuff!

OK yes, the Wii Fit Meter is quite reminiscent of the old Pokewalker from Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver. I kinda want to figure out if it’s possible to swap the faceplates. While you can’t carry a Pokemon around with you on the Fit Meter, you can see your Mii winking away at you while you run. It’s much more advanced and I am really impressed with the information it obtains and transmits to your Wii Fit U game. You can sync your steps and calories burned, so Wii Fit U will account for every single calorie you burn, whether you are playing the game on Wii U or doing a run around your neighborhood.

So please, join me in playing Wii Fit U! If you have a weight loss goal, this game can help you reach it, and I’m speaking from experience! And if you are currently playing this latest fitness game, please join my Gym Community! Once again, the Community Code is 7008-8617-8850! If you’ve never played a Wii Fit game before, fear not! Full game, Fit Meter and Balance Board bundles will be available for the holiday season. Check Nintendo.com for more info!

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Week of 5/5 – 5/11

Wasabi Celebrates the Children’s Festival!

On Sunday 5/6, Wasabi celebrated another Japanese holiday: The Children’s Festival! Also known as Boy’s Day, this holiday is all about having fun and being a kid. Shizue was posted at her usual spot in the Wasabi Town Plaza, handing out free newspaper hats to villagers. In the week leading up to the holiday, festive Carp Flags were for sale at Nookmart. A photo board was set up so villagers could pretend to be in a Carp Flag as well, which made for lots of fun and goofy photos!

In proper “Boy’s Day” spirit, Mayor Neko catches her first frog!

WASABI WELCOMES…

A new townie has moved into Wasabi! While Mayor Neko isn’t thrilled by the newest resident’s house placement (it rather obstructs the main road she uses to get to the West Bridge from the Mayor’s Estate), she welcomed Blaire the [snooty] Squirrel with open arms. Blaire has transferred to Wasabi from Mayor Mikuru’s town of Orentoiro. Clearly she had a taste for Wasabi’s delicious cherries! Welcome to Wasabi, Blaire!

WEATHER ADVISORIES

Allergy Warning: High Pollen Count

While Wasabi still has not installed a weather box (it has yet to be requested by a villager!) the Wasabi News Weather Analysts are recommending that those who suffer from pollen allergies use preventative measures, as the pollen count in the village has been rising rapidly this spring. Mayor Neko personally nursed King back to heath this week, as he was suffering from intense allergy symptoms. Luckily, our local Nookmart carries a magical all-purpose medicine that cures just about any ailment!

Spring Showers Plague Wasabi

It’s no big surprise that the rise in temperature will cause rainy weather conditions in town. This year is no different, and it has been raining almost daily in Wasabi. Please remember to use caution while running outside, and don’t forget your umbrella! Despite the lousy weather, Mayor Neko would like to remind everyone that there are a few rare fish and bugs that only come out while it’s raining – so go outside and play! Recently Mayor Neko caught the elusive snail, which only appears on hedges while it is raining. They are quite small and hard to spot, so be sure to walk slowly past bushes, or else you might hear the dreaded “bloop” of a snail being knocked to the ground and out of sight!

MUSEUM UPDATE

Through the generosity of the townies, the Wasabi Museum has yet another new addition to the Art Exhibit! The famous “Girl with a Pearl Earring” painting was donated by Mayor Neko on 5/11. Mayor Neko asked the Wasabi News to include this statement: “I’d like to personally thank Kitt for the recent donation to the Wasabi Museum. She was the one who sold me this painting. She must have seen that I was upset after recently being tricked once again by Crazy Redd’s counterfeit artworks. Buyer Beware!”

WIFI EVENTS UPDATE

Members of the 3DS StreetPass Long Island group already know this, but as the US release date of Animal Crossing: New Leaf is fast approaching, Mayor Neko has been busily preparing for some upcoming WIFI Events she has planned for her friends to attend when they finally can start playing the game! Wasabi’s WIFI Events will include giveaways such as silver tools, gyroids, flowers and exclusive Nintendo theme items! To learn more about attending a WIFI Event, please join StreetPass Long Island on Facebook!

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

5/12/13 – Mother’s Day

Check your mailbox for a letter from your Mom!

She might send you a special packet of seeds!

5/18/13 – Fishing Tournament

Catch the best fish in town!

Win a trophy if you’re in the top three!

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Have you picked up the latest in the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series? The newest game, which came out on March 24, 2013, is called Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity. It was released exclusively on the 3DS system. As someone who never got into the Mystery Dungeon spin-off series before, I wasn’t sure how to feel about this newest game, but since I had a gift card I figured I’d give it a shot.

What makes a Mystery Dungeon game different from regular Pokemon? Lots of things, actually. First of all, you don’t play as a human character – you ARE a Pokemon! There is still a ton of battling in this game; in PMD you lead a team of 4 Pokemon through various Dungeons, where you encounter all kinds of wild Pokemon to fight. Battles are still turn-based, meaning that you can’t launch a second attack on a Pokemon until everyone in your party, and your opponent, has taken a turn. You can still learn new moves and collect some TM’s, but the full Pokedex and TM selection is not available (as far as I can tell). One bonus is that as you battle, everyone in your team gets experience points – including Pokemon who are sitting in Pokemon Paradise doing nothing!

This game is not just battling, however. There’s an interesting story line (which I won’t give away much of, you can learn more by downloading the PMD game demo from the Nintendo eShop) in which you help your partner (I chose Pikachu in my game to be my partner) build and create a Pokemon Paradise. The Pokemon Paradise is a town which you can develop and expand, add new shops and you can invite more Pokemon to come and stay with you and the gang. There are mini-games, training dojos, berry and seed fields, and other shops too!

In addition to all of this, PMD has two game modes. I don’t know if this is the case in the older games, but in the 3DS version you can switch to “Companion Mode” which allows you to battle in dungeons using some of the Pokemon who are living in the Pokemon Paradise. This mode runs parallel to the main story mode, so if you’re stuck in a tough dungeon in the main Story Mode, you can switch to Companion Mode to play around and level up your team. There is a local wireless co-op option for the Companion Mode as well.

On top of all this, you have beautiful 3D graphics, StreetPass features, and you get to learn a little more about the personalities of the different Gen V Pokemon. It’s a very cute game, and while it’s definitely kid-friendly, I am having a lot of fun with it as a grown-up gamer!

Rather than just tell you about everything, here’s a little gameplay footage from my game, courtesy of StreetPass Long Island’s Twitch TV Channel! (Btw, if you aren’t a member of StreetPass Long Island, what are you waiting for? You don’t have to live in NY to join, and there’s always room for more friends! Join us on Facebook!)

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Yesterday was a super great day, because the Wii U was finally released! Every Nintendo fan who had enough money and was lucky enough to snag a preorder went out in droves to pick up their shiny new consoles. And I was no different!

As soon as preorders became available (in October I think it was?), JDubz and I went into GameStop to try and stake our claims on the newest toy. However, they apparently had filled up on their preorder quotas and turned us away. So we went to Best Buy, where they happily accepted our $5 deposits and promised to have our consoles on the day of launch. So we were happy but worried, as we’d heard that Best Buy had a reputation of accepting more preorders than the number of products they actually receive in store. While we had our preorders all set up, JDubz was concerned that we might not get our consoles.

Which means that he convinced me that we needed to get over to Best Buy at 7AM (when the store actually opens at 10AM) to make sure there wasn’t too much of a line. We dragged ourselves out of bed super early on Sunday and made our way to Best Buy. When we got there at that ungodly hour (can you tell I’m not a morning person?) we saw just ONE guy waiting in front of the store. I would have been happy to go back home and come back closer to 9:30 but JDubz was very concerned and didn’t want to risk missing out on the Wii U. So we stopped over at Dunkin Donuts and got breakfast, which we ate in his car at the Best Buy parking lot. After we ate, ONE whole other person had joined onto the line. We still figured we were okay so we played a bit of Pokemon until 8:30AM or so. Then we headed over to the line to make our presence known.

As we joined the line, an older guy queued up behind us. Then a cop car pulled over in front of the line, asking what we were all doing there. We explained about the Wii U and the cop seemed very interested. I’m still convinced that the cop was really just scoping out the line to see if he could get a Wii U for his kid lol! After chatting it up a little bit, and hearing that one of the guys in the line said he DIDN’T have a preorder, (and that he’d asked a customer service rep if they expected to have enough consoles after fulfilling all the preorders and they said they should have plenty) we decided it was safe to go back to the car and chill for another hour.

By 9:30AM the line really was starting to get long, so we hustled back over. The older guy who had been in line behind us originally insisted that we rejoin the line at our original position, which was nice of him. So we stood there a half hour and FINALLY got into the store! We rushed over to be the first in line at the customer service desk. Of course we got our Wii U’s with no issue. I really think we could have showed up AT 10AM and gotten the console, but some people are major worriers! (And I thought I was the crazy one! lol jk jk)

Whatever, all that matters is that I got this:

Wii U!

Like everyone else, I was surprised at how long the system updates took to download. I’m sure it’s got a lot to do with servers being overloaded with too many eager gamers. This shouldn’t be a surprise to any of my AC:CF readers, since we all experienced server errors when WIFI became available and everyone wanted to log on at the same time. I’m sure that the server traffic will subside in a few days. I wonder if that’s why they released the Wii U in America first, since they knew we were going to crash the servers on day one like we had in the past. Might as well only have the server overloaded with one country’s gamers, b/c in AC:CF we were also competing with Japanese players for server space. So I’m sure the Miiverse will be running normally by this weekend.

Speaking of this weekend – I am happy to announce that my StreetPass Long Island group is having our first Meet Up/Tournament on Saturday and Sunday! The first day will be chock-full of Super Smash Bros. Brawl battling. We are doing a singles and a doubles tournament, using the ruleset for the upcoming APEX 2013 Tournament in New Jersey. There is also going to be a Project M tournament. (I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never heard of or played Project M before but everyone seems to like it so I guess it’s cool?) Then on Sunday we are going to host two Pokemon tournaments. The first Pokemon tourney is going to be a classic doubles tournament with the APEX 2012 ruleset. But after that, we are doing a “SPLI Pokemon Singles” tournament with our own rules. I’m going to be giving away a Pokemon Black and White 2 Prize Pack to the winner (they are going to receive all the cool, exclusive stuff that was given out at the B&W2 Launch Event at Comic Con last month!). We’re very excited to host this event. I’m just hopeful that we get a decent turnout on both days.

I know it’s short notice but if any of my readers out there want to join us, please let me know! I am pretty sure some of you are in the NY area, so please come out and help support my group! Here’s the flyer for the event (made by ME!) just so you can see how awesome the event is going to be:

Of course, even if you can’t make the event, you are all welcome to join my StreetPass group – I don’t care if you live on Long Island or not! I just want to get as many members as I can who are active Nintendo fans who aren’t trolls lol! So please also visit our new website, which has links to all of our social network outlets.

OK before I go – who else got a Wii U this past weekend? If you did, let’s add each other on the Nintendo Network and be friends! My Nintendo Network ID is: gluxbox

If you have an ID, please comment below so we can add each other! Thanks! 🙂

I’ve only gotten to play Nintendo Land so far. I’ll do my best to post some game reviews asap. Stay tuned!